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Wall Street delivered a subdued performance last week. The S&P 500 advanced about 0.3%, the Dow Jones lost about 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 gained 1%. The Alphabet-led tech rally and Fed rate cut hopes boosted the growth segment.
Below, we highlight a few key events of last week.
Inside the Tech Rally
Tech giants just had an epic week, adding $420 billion in market cap to reach a combined $21 trillion valuation (as quoted on CNBC) despite NVIDIA’s dip. Alphabet surged about 11.6% last week. Apple gained 3.1% after a U.S. court handed Google a limited antitrust penalty, and allowed it to maintain its search deal with Apple (read: Alphabet's Stock Jumps as Antitrust Fears Ease: ETFs in Focus).
Although Alphabet was slapped with a $3.45 billion EU fine last week, investors paid more attention to the U.S. win. Meanwhile, Broadcom soared on a new $10 billion customer, while Tesla rose on Elon Musk’s proposed pay package (per the abovementioned CNBC article). The gains cemented Big Tech’s ruling position.
Downbeat Jobs Data
The U.S. economy added 22,000 jobs in August 2025, lower than an upwardly revised 79,000 in July and market forecasts of 75,000, as quoted on tradingeconomics. The data reinforced the softness in the labor market.
Jobs data for June were revised down by 27,000, and the change for July was revised up by 6,000. With these revisions, the previously reported employment data for June and July combined was reduced by 21,000. The unemployment rate at 4.3% changed little in August, per government data.
Job growth was mainly noticed in sectors such as health care (+31,000) and social assistance (+16,000). Job losses were pronounced in wholesale trade (12,000) and manufacturing (12,000).
Fed Rate Cut Bet Strengthens
The Fed will likely cut interest rates in September after Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a reduction in his highly anticipated Jackson Hole speech. There are 89% chances (at the time of writing) of a 25-bp rate cut in September, per the CME FedWatch Tool, while 11% chances shifted to the 50-bp rate cut. A softer labor market has probably led the market to this pricing pattern.
Winning ETFs in Focus
Against this backdrop, below we have highlighted a few winning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of last week (data as per tradingview.com).
The underlying Breakwave Tanker Futures Index follows the near-dated futures market on a constant rolling basis.The ETF offers long exposure to the crude oil tanker shipping market by investing in a portfolio of near-term futures contracts tied to indices that track the cost of transporting crude oil.
Gold prices have been steady lately, thanks to higher safe-haven demand. The Fed rate cut bets also favored the non-interest-paying metal ETFs. As mining stocks often act as leveraged plays of the underlying metal, gold mining ETFs surged last week.
iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF (SLVP - Free Report) – Up 10.5%
Silver prices have been hovering around $40 an ounce, marking the strongest level since 2011, per tradingeconomics. The silver market is expected to see a deficit for the fifth successive year in 2025, according to the Silver Institute. As a result, silver bullion ETF SLV gained 5.3% last week. Since mining stocks often surge more than the underlying metal, SLVP recorded a spurt in price last week.
Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT - Free Report) – Up 6.4%
There were reports in August that battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, CATL, suspended production at a mine in China that is instrumental in supplying to the global market, as quoted on CNBC. The mine produces about 4% of the global lithium supply forecast for 2025, according to Morgan Stanley, as quoted in the abovementioned CNBC article. As fears of a supply crunch rose, lithium ETF prices jumped.
Biotech companies often depend on equity and debt financing to raise funds. In a low-rate environment, the cost of capital falls, which is a beneficial scenario for biotech companies. With Fed rate cuts likely in September, biotech firms probably saw a surge.
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Best-Performing ETFs of Last Week
Wall Street delivered a subdued performance last week. The S&P 500 advanced about 0.3%, the Dow Jones lost about 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 gained 1%. The Alphabet-led tech rally and Fed rate cut hopes boosted the growth segment.
Below, we highlight a few key events of last week.
Inside the Tech Rally
Tech giants just had an epic week, adding $420 billion in market cap to reach a combined $21 trillion valuation (as quoted on CNBC) despite NVIDIA’s dip. Alphabet surged about 11.6% last week. Apple gained 3.1% after a U.S. court handed Google a limited antitrust penalty, and allowed it to maintain its search deal with Apple (read: Alphabet's Stock Jumps as Antitrust Fears Ease: ETFs in Focus).
Although Alphabet was slapped with a $3.45 billion EU fine last week, investors paid more attention to the U.S. win. Meanwhile, Broadcom soared on a new $10 billion customer, while Tesla rose on Elon Musk’s proposed pay package (per the abovementioned CNBC article). The gains cemented Big Tech’s ruling position.
Downbeat Jobs Data
The U.S. economy added 22,000 jobs in August 2025, lower than an upwardly revised 79,000 in July and market forecasts of 75,000, as quoted on tradingeconomics. The data reinforced the softness in the labor market.
Jobs data for June were revised down by 27,000, and the change for July was revised up by 6,000. With these revisions, the previously reported employment data for June and July combined was reduced by 21,000. The unemployment rate at 4.3% changed little in August, per government data.
Job growth was mainly noticed in sectors such as health care (+31,000) and social assistance (+16,000). Job losses were pronounced in wholesale trade (12,000) and manufacturing (12,000).
Fed Rate Cut Bet Strengthens
The Fed will likely cut interest rates in September after Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a reduction in his highly anticipated Jackson Hole speech. There are 89% chances (at the time of writing) of a 25-bp rate cut in September, per the CME FedWatch Tool, while 11% chances shifted to the 50-bp rate cut. A softer labor market has probably led the market to this pricing pattern.
Winning ETFs in Focus
Against this backdrop, below we have highlighted a few winning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of last week (data as per tradingview.com).
Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (BWET - Free Report) – Up 12.1%
The underlying Breakwave Tanker Futures Index follows the near-dated futures market on a constant rolling basis.The ETF offers long exposure to the crude oil tanker shipping market by investing in a portfolio of near-term futures contracts tied to indices that track the cost of transporting crude oil.
Global X Gold Explorers ETF (GOEX - Free Report) – Up 12.1%
Gold prices have been steady lately, thanks to higher safe-haven demand. The Fed rate cut bets also favored the non-interest-paying metal ETFs. As mining stocks often act as leveraged plays of the underlying metal, gold mining ETFs surged last week.
iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF (SLVP - Free Report) – Up 10.5%
Silver prices have been hovering around $40 an ounce, marking the strongest level since 2011, per tradingeconomics. The silver market is expected to see a deficit for the fifth successive year in 2025, according to the Silver Institute. As a result, silver bullion ETF SLV gained 5.3% last week. Since mining stocks often surge more than the underlying metal, SLVP recorded a spurt in price last week.
Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT - Free Report) – Up 6.4%
There were reports in August that battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, CATL, suspended production at a mine in China that is instrumental in supplying to the global market, as quoted on CNBC. The mine produces about 4% of the global lithium supply forecast for 2025, according to Morgan Stanley, as quoted in the abovementioned CNBC article. As fears of a supply crunch rose, lithium ETF prices jumped.
Virtus LifeSci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF (BBC - Free Report) – Up 6.1%
Biotech companies often depend on equity and debt financing to raise funds. In a low-rate environment, the cost of capital falls, which is a beneficial scenario for biotech companies. With Fed rate cuts likely in September, biotech firms probably saw a surge.